Searching for Street Art in Buenos Aires

When I arrived to Buenos Aires, I was excited to be in one of the world’s top capitals for street art. Before my trip, I’d read about how the city’s relaxed stance towards graffiti had turned Argentina’s capital into an attractive mecca for international street artists. Plus, I was beyond thrilled when I learned that Italian muralist Blu, one of my favourites, had done a few pieces in Buenos Aires.

Looking for street art around trendy Palermo was easy enough. On one of my walks around the area, I stumbled upon a mural by Triangulo Dorado for the first time. This art collective was formed by three friends who’d been painting together since 2007, creating murals with a recognisable style that mixes darker colours, geometrical shapes and poetry. Just yesterday, they announced that they’re going their separate ways to the dismay of their many fans; although it seems that they’ll continue painting, just not together anymore.

San Telmo is also a good place to see street art in Buenos Aires. There, I saw a few pieces by Colombian artist Malegria, a street artist from Bogotá who now lives in Argentina. His works usually feature fantastic characters made of basic lines and painted in bright colours.

But street art in Buenos Aires is not limited to the most visited neighbourhoods; there is much more to be found off the beaten path. The problem is that Buenos Aires is massive and that not all neighbourhoods are safe to be walking around taking photos with your nice camera. So I figured that this time I needed help, if I really wanted to see more street art besides the obvious. And that’s how I decided to go on my first ever street art tour.

Since this was my first tour, I wasn’t sure about what to expect; but it turned out to be a very positive experience. It was great to have someone who knows a lot about street art giving some background information about the local scene, the artists and their works. Those details add a different perspective to what you’re looking at.

During the tour, I learned about artists I didn’t know before; like Nase, a Dutch artist who relocated to Buenos Aires and paints colourful murals with relaxed typography (see the photo with the fish, above). We also came across a mural with a strong social message (pictured above) which references to a controversy with a paper mill, by local artist Grito.

Almost at the end of the tour, we saw the mural below by Peruvian duo Entes & Pesimo; who were responsible for launching the Latir Latino street art festival in Lima, featuring only Latin American artists (BTW, I’m very excited to check these murals out when I get to Peru!).

We finished our urban exploration at a local bar, with a discussion of Argentinian politics over a cold beer. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon, and I really recommend this activity if you are traveling to Buenos Aires. If you’d like more information about the Buenos Aires Street Art tour, check out their site. For more street art photos from my trip to Buenos Aires, check out my gallery.

Have you visited Buenos Aires? Did you enjoy the street art? Which were your favourite artists/works? Let me know in the comments below!

Bianca Bauza is a world citizen who spent almost four years traveling around South America and Europe. Her passions include photography, street art, outdoor sports, and cooking exotic dishes. She's now based in the Netherlands where she lives with her partner and young daughter. She still enjoys traveling, on her own or with her family, and is always looking for an opportunity to see new places.

11 COMMENTS

Wow! I’m speechless. I’m wandering why I haven’t been to Buenos Aires yet considering is such an amazing place for street art, silly me!
The tour looks like the kind of activity I’d definitely do, I like going around on my own and discover things by myself, but when you get to learn about the artists too it’s worth being guided.

I was also blown away by it, Franca :) It was a great introduction to street art in South America as well; there’s so much going on here in terms of graffiti, it’s making my trip a complete joy. Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks so much Marysia :) So far I’ve been really impressed by the street art in South America; stay tuned for my upcoming posts about street art in Santiago and Valparaíso in Chile, and Cochabamba in Bolivia. Thanks for visiting!

I”m personally a big fan of cities. But even for me, the daily grind of city life can all get too much. How amazing to be able to walk around and see all of these bursts of colour on the city streets – an uplifting city experience, I would imagine.

Yes, I agree with about it being an uplifting experience; that’s what I like about street art, that’s out there and it’s accessible to anyone passing by. It makes you think, it lets you admire the artist’s creativity and it adds to the aesthetics of a place, IMO. Thanks for stopping by, David :)

hi! I invite you to check my profile to see more argentinian street art. me and my friends have been painting around the city and around our country. last year we were invited to paint as aprt of a big festival in bogotá, colombia. you´ll see all my work here : https://www.facebook.com/mariela.ajras // http://marieajras.tumblr.com/ and also here’s our tour around argentina, colombia and Europe, where you’ll our collective work, we are a group who paints together sometimes (we also have our individual body of work): https://www.facebook.com/unpueblounmural?fref=ts
check it out! hope you like it! and yes, buenos aires is a great place for street art! be welcomed!
:)
marie ajras